And Then She Knew
by The Last Evenstar
Summary: A look at the second meeting of Aragorn and Arwen and the story of how they first fell in love. Extreme fluffiness!
1. The Man in Silver and White

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And Then She Knew

By The Last Evenstar

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Disclaimer: I am not J.R.R. Tolkien, and neither Aragorn nor Arwen, not Galadriel, not even Lothlorien or Cerin Amroth are mine. I've gone visiting there, however, and the food is great. A bit leafy, though. But I digress.

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A/N: This story follows Aragorn and Arwen from their second meeting in the land of Lorien until the Midsummer's Eve on which they pledge their troth. Some dialogue atop Cerin Amroth was taken from the 'Tale of Aragorn and Arwen' in Appendix A at the back of _RotK. _I suggest you read it; it's a beautiful little story. Most dialogue, however, is my own. (Time to run away!) This story will probably have two chapters.

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Chapter One: The Man in Silver and White

Galadriel watched the young rider draw his horse in, trying to absorb his surroundings. She arose and walked serenely toward him, smiling in a most comforting and mysterious manner. "Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the day grows late. I hope you do not intend to continue your journey."

He looked up, startled, and was taken aback by the radiant white elf that stood before him. He inclined his head, unsure of how to behave. "Whom do I have the honor of addressing?"

In return, she swept a graceful curtsey. "I am Galadriel, Lady of the Light, and Lorien is my home into which you have strayed."

The young man, who looked no more than twenty-five by human standards but was in fact a Ranger of the Dunedain and forty-nine, fumbled for words. "Lady Galadriel! I – I . . . no wonder you knew my name!" His face was suffused a deep scarlet. "That is to say, I have heard much about you from Lord Elrond, my –"

"Foster father, I know," Galadriel cut in smoothly. "Come with me into Lorien and we may discuss it further."

Aragorn looked very unsure as to how to respond. "Begging your pardon, my Lady, but I had hoped to ride for Rivendell before night falls."

She smiled knowingly. "You make much haste, then, Elfstone, if you cannot halt in your journey for one night of hospitable company."

His blush deepened. "I have not been home in many years. Long delayed has been my return."

Her smile seemed, to Aragorn, both knowing and wise but still full of laughterand light. "Delay, then, Aragorn Arathorn's son, for you may find that within Lorien a greater treasure awaits you."

Hesitantly, he followed her through the wood. He felt a strange sensation in his mind, a probing of sort. He gulped. "You know, then, what I seek?"

Her eyes were brimming with laughter and mirth. "I do know, and I am prepared to aid you in your quest."

"Aid me . . . ?" He stopped short and absently handed his horse over to an Elven groomsman. "You think I have a chance of success?"

She led him into a room sheltered by the trees. "Anyone who has waited as long as you have deserves success. It is not a question of what I think but a question of what you are willing to do, and you have proven yourself ten times over in this certain regard."

Aragorn sat, still wondering if this was real. "Lady, you speak in puzzles. Is it my task to solve them?"

She laughed and placed a bowl of food before him. "Eat. You are tired and hungry. And then you will tell me everything."

Arwen Undomiel wandered through the glade and about the trees. _Shadow covers the land of my mother's kin, _she thought. _Already the beauty of Lothlorien fades. _

Sighing wistfully, she stopped and sat down in the fragrant spring grass. _The flowers no longer sing, _she lamented, reaching out to touch a strand of elanor. _They simply sit there, heedless of the coming darkness._

Through her contemplation, Arwen heard a man's voice. Startled, she sat up, for this was no smooth Elf talking, but rather a voice rough, deep, and immensely calming.

"I loved her from the moment I saw her face. So beautiful and so wise, she walked through the woods like a shadow of a dream. Everyone tried to dissuade me. My own mother told me that I looked too high. She said it would be my doom, then, to endure bitter days and walk in the wild alone. But young and foolish that I was, I stayed, and sought her affection in any way possible. I found she was more than I had dreamed of; she was smart, she was brave, caring, and full of life and spirit. But Elrond sought to turn me against my heart, so I left, silently vowing to return for her once I was truly worthy." Here he paused, remembering. "For twenty-nine years I labored to prove myself. I became skilled in the crafts and lore of Men, but always my face was stern, for I knew of the doom laid upon me. Yet sometimes I would remember, and the hope that dwelt ever in the depths of my heart would take hold and lead me to achievement. I always meant to return, always wanted to return, but I was now hard pressed for time and thought. For alongside Gandalf Stormcrow I have waged stealthy battle against the impending evil that grows in Mordor." He let out a breath, his tale told.

Arwen was surprised to hear her grandmother's voice. "And now you think to ride to Rivendell and woo your fair maiden, my beautiful granddaughter?"

Arwen gasped. _Me?_ Was this man talking about her? Now that she thought back, his situation seemed all too familiar . . .

Then it hit her. _Aragorn. Estel. Ward of my father. _She felt her eyes well up. _I had no idea he would remember me so. I knew not the effect my friendship had upon him. What am I to do?_ She paused, thinking. _Although what he said was so romantic . . . _She shook her head. _Stop. You must remain calm._

She stood up and began to walk, hoping to clear her mind. She passes under the trees of Caras Galadon, and stopped to admire their beauty. They were laden with flowers of gold, and though not as bright as they once had been, they still took her breath away as they had for centuries. 

Hearing soft footsteps on the ground behind her, she turned, unprepared for the vision that her eyes beheld. A man strode toward her, clothed in raiment of silver and white, with an elven-gray cloak. A bright gem adorned his brow, and for a moment Arwen was sure he was an Elf-lord from the Isles of the West. Upon closer inspection he proved to be simply the handsomest man she'd ever laid eyes upon. His eyes were big and blue, and spoke to her in a way that none had before. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and suddenly saw in him a familiar face. "A-aragorn?"

He nodded, struck dumb by the sight of her. Her sense reeled as she beheld him. _Of all the things I did not expect . . ._

He fought to regain composure and bowed deeply. "Lady Arwen. For many years I have rehearsed this moment in my head, yet somehow nothing of this fashion occurred to me."

She laughed, her own voice strange to her ears. "Believe me, I know the feeling well."

"Will you walk with me?"

Every way she had planned to quell his interest flew from her head. In it's place, dizziness took over. "Yes."

They walked a short way, lost in silence. At last, he asked, "What news of Master Elrond?"

She tried to remember, but all she could come up with a vague picture. "M-my father?" _Think, Arwen! He writes you weekly! _Instead, she conjured up memories of her father talking with Aragorn, riding with Aragorn . . . how had she never noticed how handsome he was, or how caring? It was there all along . . . 

Suddenly, she was seized by irrational desire. All she knew was that never in her life had she felt so vulnerable, so nervous, as she did now. And so she sought to take control of the situation. "He is well. But that's not what you wish to discuss, is it?"

"Arwen . . ." She could see the hope in his eyes. "What do you speak of?"

"What you want." She struggled to keep down her emotions. _I cannot believe I'm saying this!_

And then she knew. Looking up at him, his handsome face confused, she threw away everything her father had ever said. Facing him squarely, she reached out and kissed him.

She could feel his surprise as she did so. Slowly his arms encircled her waist and he returned her passion. When he released her, and her heart was light and happy as it had not been for some time, she knew for sure. She was in love.

And so her choice was made, and her doom appointed.

R&R, and next you get to hear about their season together and their pledge on Cerin Amroth! And then it will end, sorry, but while you're at it, read my other stories!


	2. East to the Shadow and West to the Twili...

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And Then She Knew

By The Last Evenstar

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Disclaimer: As always, I own nil. Zilch. Zero. A few lines on Cerin Amroth were written by Tolkien. The song was written by Tolkien, Fran Walsh, and Philippa, um . . . somebody. I write only because I like to.

A/N: First off, I am sorry that Aragorn has blue eyes. I will try not to mention them again. But if you check the book, it definitely says they were indeed blue at that time. And secondly, Aragorn was not planning to ride all the way to Rivendell before nightfall, he just wanted to cover some more ground. And last of all, it wasn't my intention for things to happen so fast. But yet again, I do as the book commands, and, according to dear old Tolkien, 'her choice was made' as soon as she saw him walking toward her. *Shrugs* Thanks for reviewing!

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Chapter Two: East to the Shadow and West to the Twilight

Over the next few weeks Arwen felt herself falling headfirst into the dizzying oblivion she could only identify as love. Every day she met Aragorn in the shade of Caras Galadon and they would walk together, heedless of the world around them. Sometimes they would simply sit in a secluded glade, she resting blissfully in his arms, and listen to the songs of the Elves. Some days they would pack a picnic walk down to the river Celebrant, returning only when night fell over the land of Lorien. 

Some days they were not so lucky. Word had reached the Lorien Elves of the growing evil in the east, and the shadow over the enchanted lands darkened. Gandalf the Gray rode once to Lothlorien, and Arwen saw not a trace of Aragorn for three days. 

Winter became spring, and spring became summer, and the trees of Lorien shed their golden leaves only to burst full of brilliant yellow flower. And it was then, in the earliest days of the sixth month, that the sons of Elrond rode into Lorien. Learning of their sister's choice they were much aggrieved, but they as well held Aragorn in high esteem, having watched him grow from boy to man and trained him in the arts of the elves.

"I do fear," said Elladen, "that, whether or not Arwen chooses to stay with Estel, nothing good can come of their relationship."

"Do not doubt," Elrohir abashed his brother, "that which you have yet to understand. A great evil comes swiftly on the East Wind, and for Estel to conquer it would be to prove himself in the eyes of our father and our sister."

A smile pulled at Elladen's lips as he gazed out the window into a shady glade. "I don't know if he needs help in that regard."

Elrohir chuckled. "Any more of that and they'll be walking the road of Luthien and Beren step for step."

Arwen's voice rang with laughter. Since she had come to Lorien, her days had been dark and her joy seldom. But when she was with Aragorn all the happiness of life seemed to come rushing back. 

"I've got you now, fair maiden!" Aragorn came up behind her and threw his arms about her neck. Planting a kiss on her cheek, he said, "Now you can never escape!" 

She turned around to face him, their heads only inches apart. "Do you promise?" she whispered, her heart beating loudly against his chest.

He lowered his head so their foreheads touched. "Promise," he whispered back. "Anno ui-gwaedh nin.*"

Arwen bit her lip. She didn't feel like talking about forever, or any time in the far future for that matter. _He doesn't know about forever, _she thought. _He won't be around to see it. _She desperately tried to push the thoughts from her mind.

Aragorn sensed her pull back. "What's wrong?"

Arwen sighed. _Don't think about the future. You're living now, and you're missing it. _She smiled up at him. "Nothing."

His arms tightened around her waist and his lips met hers in a promise more powerful than anything either one could say. And Arwen found herself welcoming it.

Galadriel gazed at the young lovers and sighed. She turned to Celeborn, a sorry look in her eye. "Time is running out," she said in Sindarin. "Soon he will be gone and dark once more will be her days."

The tall elf shook his head. "Arwen will wait. Anyone over two thousand years old has grown patient by now."

The look in his wife's eyes saddened. "Oh, but Celeborn, I don't know if she will. Arwen knows the consequences of pledging her love to this man, and so she is wary still. She hesitates even as her heart tells her otherwise."

Celeborn frowned. "Maybe she is right. After all, one does not forsake one's family, one's very life, so easily. Perhaps it is not meant to be. Perhaps it would be for the best if he goes without a pledge."

Galadriel shook her head. "No! I have foreseen it. There union will unite the kingdoms of Middle-Earth." She looked up. "I have seen young Estel as a King."

He gasped. "Why did you not tell me this?"

"It has only come to me recently. But I fear that a broken heart will only hinder his path and the great deeds I have seen may not come to pass."

"Maybe you underestimate the boy's strength."

She sighed. "Maybe so. But Arwen loves him, and I feel in my heart that it is right."

"He cannot stay, though." Celeborn paced the room. "Midsummer's Day he leaves with Elladen and Elrohir. It is a long journey before anything you have foreseen comes to pass."

"I know. I do not intend to meddle. Just worry."

Arwen struggled to sit up straight. It was Midsummer's Eve, and Aragorn's last night in Lothlorien. _I should be with him, not sitting here listening to someone I don't know sing a song about someone long dead!_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aragorn standing at the edge of the wood. Risking a look at him, she caught her breath. He was dressed in the same tunic of white and gold he had worn his first night in Lothlorien, and to Arwen he was more handsome then ever. She looked beseechingly over at her grandmother and, to her amazement, Galadriel gave an almost imperceptible nod in Aragorn's direction.

She left her seat quietly and slipped into his arms at the edge of the wood. "Shhhh," he whispered, and beckoned her quietly away from the party of Elves. 

She tried not to laugh as he led her deeper into the wood. "Where are you taking me? What's going on?"

In a clearing a little way from Cerin Amroth, he stopped and faced her, a hopeful smile on his face. "It's a surprise."

She smiled up at him. "What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see." He sat down in the grass. "The land is beautiful."

She sat next to him. "I love this time of year. The trees are just beginning to blossom and the whole world seems bathed in sunshine."

Far off, she could hear the songs of the Elves. The fragrant perfume of the elanor and niphredil scattered about the hillside intertwined with the fresh scent of the undying grass that was only found in Lothlorien. She lay her head back and breathed deeply, feeling the beauty that Lorien still retained. She kicked off her shoes and sighed. "I could lie forever in the grass and listen to the forest sing."

Aragorn laughed softly. "I know what you mean." He kicked his shoes off as well. "Walk to the top of the hill with me."

Obligingly, she got up and followed him, wondering why he seemed so nervous. As they trekked up the hill, she looked at him and was startled at how she felt.

On the top of Cerin Amroth, the hill where to the east lay a shadow and to the west the Twilight, Aragorn sat down. His face was set and grim.

"What's wrong?" Arwen sat by his side and snuggled close, resting her head on his shoulder. "You seem troubled tonight."

He looked down at her and smiled. "I'm not. You look beautiful tonight."

She laughed. "It's the magic of Midsummer. Tomorrow it will fade and the birds will not sing as sweetly, the air will not smell as fresh. But tonight, and just tonight, the magic of the wood comes together to create a perfect evening."

"You know I'm leaving tomorrow."

She frowned at the unwelcome intrusion. "And that is why we must make the most of tonight." She reached up and kissed him softly, becoming fully aware of just how much she would miss him.

He reached out and drew her close. "Arwen, meltha, I love you."

She looked up at him, her eyes searching. "I – I love you too. You know that." Once she said it, she realized how true it was. "I will wait for you, Aragorn. You can go off as you need. But I still want to be with you."

He saw the uncertainty in her eyes. "Do you? Truly? My Evenstar, I love you more than you could ever imagine. But there always seems to be a whisper of doubt in your mind."

Arwen looked at the man beside her, so hopeful and so vulnerable. It wasn't that he was right. It was all she could do to keep from crying out to him, pouring out her heart for him to see. 

But, unbidden, the image of her father popped into her mind. She knew he would not approve. The reproach of her brothers was only the tip of the iceberg; to be with Aragorn meant to go against the honor and lineage that Elrond held so dear.

She struggled to make sense of everything running through her mind. She bit her lip, hardly daring to look into Aragorn's eyes. "I love you, Estel. Of that I am sure."

Joy found place on his face, replaced in an instant be concern. "What is it that you are unsure of?"

She forced herself to look at him. The full impact he had on her made the next words all the much harder. "Whether this relationship can work."

"O môr henion i dhu, Ely siriar, el síla. Aníron, Undómiel,**" he said softly, looking into her eyes. She tried to lower her gaze but found she could not. "That is what I know. And it's all I need." She tried to speak, but he laid a finger on her lips. "Arwen, having you in my life is everything I've been dreaming of for nigh on thirty years. That may not be anything to you, but it's been more than half of my lifetime. And if you have any faith in me, you will believe that after half a life of dreaming I know how to make it work." He waited for her to interrupt, but by now she was beyond words. "Arwen venldmelda, namarie. Ui-namarie. And I know you feel the same way." He seemed to be gaining courage as he spoke. "We have the chance to be together, and unless you'd rather spend your days alone -"

She cut him off with a deep, passionate kiss, unable to contain herself. He wrapped his arms around her slender frame and held her tightly. Pulling away, she laughed out of sheer jubilance. "You're right, Estel. You're so right."

He smiled more happily than she knew possible. "El eria e mor. I 'lir en el luitha 'uren,***" he murmured into her ear. For a while they sat, listening to the songs reverberating through the wood. 

As the sky grew dark, Arwen could see, on the eastern horizon, the ominous light from the land of Mordor. "That land casts a shadow over the dwellings of my people," she whispered, awed and afraid. "It marks the last days of the Elves."

Aragorn tightened his hold about her shoulders. "It is a dark foreboding."

But Arwen said, "Dark is the shadow, and yet my heart rejoices; for you, Estel, shall be among the great whose valor will destroy it."

Aragorn shook his head. "Alas! I cannot foresee it, and how it may come to pass is hidden from me. Yet with your hope, I will hope. And the shadow I utterly reject." At this he turned gently and looked into her eyes, finally addressing the issue they had avoided for weeks. "But neither, lady, is the Twilight for me; for I am a mortal, and if you will cleave to me, Evenstar, then the Twilight you must also renounce."

Arwen felt something twist in the pit of her stomach. Here it was; there would be no more putting it off. She must make a choice. _Here is my one chance for true love_, she thought, knowing in her heart that she was right. _But in doing so I must give up my family and my heritage. _She looked to the west, where, across the water, the land of Valinor lay. She gulped. Her mother waited there for her daughter to come. Her father expected her to go with him. If she chose to cleave to this man, then she would never see the Twilight. She would never return to the land of the Elves.

_There is a war coming, _she thought. _The Shadow and the Twilight close in on me from either side. _A single tear ran down her cheek. _And either way, I have so much to lose._

She looked over at Aragorn. He was gazing at her squarely, waiting for the answer she knew would make or break his heart. _I don't know if I can let my family go, _she realized, _but I do know that I can't leave him. _"I will cleave to you, Dunadain, and turn from the Twilight." Each word felt like its own betrayal. "Yet there lies the land of my people and the long home of all my kin."

He held her tightly and kissed her cheek. "I know, meleth nin. And I am sorry."

She looked up at him and smiled in her heart. "I believe you are worth it."

As Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and Arwen Elrond's daughter sat on the hill of Cerin Amroth locked in a bittersweet embrace, the song of the Lorien elves drifted through the glades,

_"May it be, an evening star   
"Shines down upon you.  
"May it be, when darkness falls   
"Your heart will be true.  
"You walk a lonely road.  
"Oh, how far you are from home.  
  
"Mornië utúlië,  
"Believe and you will find your way.  
"Mornië alantië,  
"A promise lives within you now.  
  
"May it be the shadow's call   
"Will fly away.  
"May it be you journey on   
"To light the day.  
"When the night is overcome   
"You may rise to find the sun.  
  
"Mornië utúlië,  
"Believe and you will find your way."_

*"I give you my promise forever."

**"From darkness I understand the night, dreams flow, a star shines. I desire you, Evenstar."

***"A star rises out of the darkness. The song of the star enchants my heart."

If you review, I will be a happy little elf.   



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